2016 Domaine Brana "Harri Gorri" Irouleguy Rosé, Southwest France

The Harri Gorri Rosé is crafted from 70% Tannat and 30%Cabernet Franc. Harri Gorri is basque for red stones and refers to the red sandstone found locally in the Pyrenees. The wine is produced using the “saignée” method...

The wine appellations of southwest France are spread
throughout ten different “départments”. The Romans called the area
Aquitania, “land of waters”, and it has been described as the area
of few roads but many rivers. This group of appellations is
certainly the most far ranging and diverse to be brought together
under one geographical umbrella. Although the area is spread out,
it is given contours by its impressive natural boundaries. The
great mountain range known as the Massif Central forms the eastern
boundary. This vast range gives rise to the Dordogne, the Lot and
the Tarn rivers, which flow westward toward the Atlantic Ocean and
have been so crucial to the development of the region’s vineyards.
The southern extreme is formed by the Pyrénées, the source of the
Garonne River whose northern route passes through Toulouse and
Bordeaux. The region is met on its western edge by the Atlantic
Ocean.

Reflective of the geographic diversity is the diversity of
wine styles and grape varieties grown in the Southwest, many of
which are particular to their appellations. Red varieties such as
Fer Servadou, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc are grown
throughout the region as well as Tannat, Malbec and Negrette. White
varieties of the region include Len de l’el, Mauzac, Gros Manseng
and Petit Manseng.

The appellation of Irouleguy (ee-RHOO-lay-ghee) stretches
along a small band of hillside vineyards in the Pyrenees within the
French Pays Basque. Here, the land, the climate, the language and
the culture remain apart from the rest of Atlantic influenced
France. Isolated by the mountainous terrain, this is a region of
picturesque countryside. The local wine expresses those differences
as plainly as Basque differs from French on the roadside signs.
Only about 500 acres of vineyards are farmed in Irouléguy, now half
as much as a century ago, when phylloxera devastated the vines.
Grapes were not grown on a meaningful scale again until 1984, when
Étienne Brana, whose family distilled eau de vie, planted a
vineyard on red sandstone and began to make wine independent of the
local coop. The vines are planted along very narrow terraces
that have been cut out of the remarkably steep hillsides, and
the family's farming practices are non-intervening with bio-dynamic
principles and hand harvesting.

In a July 29, 2014 column, NYT wine writer Eric Asimov
shares

"I have been obsessed with the wines of Irouléguy for five
years. It began with a visit to Bordeaux, where a restaurateur...as
a refresher offered a rosé from Irouléguy, practically dismissing
it as a palate cleanser." Asimov observed an "almost exotic flavor
of flowers and red fruits laced with bloody iron tang. Rustic in
the best sense of the word, genuine and forthright." He goes on to
call Domaine Brana "an excellent estate" worth seeking. One sip of
their "Harri Gorri" Rosé transports you to that exact moment, back
to Mr. Asimov's discovery. The 2016 is crafted from 70% Tannat and
30% Cabernet Franc. The name "Harri Gorri" is basque for red stones
and refers to the soil found locally in the Pyrenees. The wine is
produced using the saignée method with a maceration sufficient to
give it deep color, good body, lots of spice and unexpected
longevity. Fans of Bandol Rosé will lose their minds over this late
release Rosé, with its unique minerality, concentration and never
ending finish. Production levels are so small that our importer
received less than thirty six packs. So grab your bottles before
it's too late and enjoy with anything on your end of summer
grilling calendar.